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@uiten 'tatea getraut @ffice LUTHER W. FELT, OFA Klillirllil.v NEW HAMPSHIRE. i'

` Leiters Patent No. 66,141, annahm@ 25, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES IR GUTTINGQCORKS.

'ro ALL WHOM 1T MAY coNoERN:

Be it known that I, LUTHER W. FELT, of Keene,in the county of Cheshire, and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new'and useful improved Cork-CuttinghIachine; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a par-t of Vthis specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure I is a front elet/ation of the machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation with table and rod up.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section through line D Grof fig. l.

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through line H K of iig. 2.

Figure 5 is a horizontal transverse section through line O R of iig. 1.

Figure 6 is a horizontal-transverse section through line N I? of iig. 2.

Figure 7 is a Vertical section of the stop'v through line L M of iig. 6.

Figure 8 is an elevation oi' the cutter and cutter-rod.

' The nature of my invention Yconsists in arranging a' cork-cutting machine with two or more revolving cutters and a feeding apparatus, so that when the cork is fed up to the cutters the cork may be cut in a conical form, and, as soon as it is cut, carried away to its proper receptacle, without further manipulation than the process of cutting.

To the cork-cutting machines no w in use there areserious objections, as none as yethave been put into use that do not split and tear the stuif from which the corks are cut in the process of cutting; vthe cutters of all the machines new in use either acting as a Wedge as soon as they enter the stuff to commence the operation of cutting, as in machines whose cutters feed down through the cork; or, in expanding cutters, the operation of cutting the cork as it is moved up to the cutters tends to force the cutters outwards against the stuit` from which the cork is cut, in either case turning and breaking the stuit, especially when the holes are near together, and thereby causing great'waste o f stock, from which smaller corks eould'be cut after cutting large ones if the stuft' were not so much broken and split. In the expanding cutter now in use the action of the cutters which cut outward instead of inward, thereby causing the stut` to break and split, is entirely dependent upon the elasticity of springs which are operated by the cork itself, and as all the stuft' from which corks are cut has first to be rendered perfectly soit and pliable byA being thoroughly steamed, it is almost impossible to cut all the corks of any desired size alike, as the cutters do not commence to expand until the cork presses upon the spring with sucient force to overcome its elasticity, and cause the cutters to expand during the operation of cutting, and when the raw cork is wet or steamed, very little pressure will compress the cork at the point where it is pressed, and so the cutters do not commence their operation until the cork haspassed up a little and the cutters have entered the cork, and ra true taper is not then produced. If one spring breaks or has been long used, so that its elasticity is more or less exhausted, it is impossible to replace it with one that shall be of the same degree of elasticity asthe former one, so that between the difference in old and new springs and the elasticity of the raw cork, which is very great when wet, there is no certainty or probability of cutting all the corks of any desired size alike. In these machines the feeding motion which either moves the cutters down to the cork, or moves the cork up to the cutters, is performed by a earn or other suitable movement, and the machine is therefore not so entirely at the will and control of the operator as is often desirable is much more noisy in its movements;

is' more expensive and-more, liable to get out of repair from the consequent jar. In sharpening dullor repairing broken cutters, it is also necessary to take out the entire rod or cutter, which is always a matter of more or less trouble.

In my invention I have entirely overcome these objections and diiliculties, as in mymachine the cutters cut the cork while they are contracting instead oi' expanding, thus pressing against the cork upon the inside. of the cutters instead of the outside. The action of the cutters is dependentl on and controlled entirely by a positive motion, instead of springs and wet cork. The cork when cut is separated from the waste and carried away to its proper receptaclel by the machine itself; and when it is desired to sharpen dull or repair` broken` cutters, 'they are easily and'ieadily removed without taking'out the rod.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describeits construction and application to use. i

' In the drawings, is an upright or post, which I may be either of wood ormetal, with the projections Al A2 A3 A4, and through the projections Aa and A4 are perforations, through or into which is passed the hollow shaft B, having the pulley C and the stop et screwed or otherwise properly secured firmly to it. The collar s is then slipped on to the shaft B underneath lthe stop u. 'The cutter-rods F F having the shoulders or projections F F, are then passed up through the perforationsl or holes t t t t, which the cutter-rods F F are made to fit, in the collar s and into the sockets t t which are'made to receive the upper end ofthe cutter-rods F F. The stop v is thenslipped on over the shaft B, passing the lower end `of the cutter-rods F F through the holes v v', letting the shoulders or projections F F drop into the sockets made to receive them in the stop v, as shown by the dotted lines at z in figs. 1 and 2. T hc stopl v is then pressed up, leaving a free lateral play for the cutterrods F F, and the stop t' is then screwed or fastened properly in place on the shaft BQ ,The holes v 'u' in the stop v and the sockets t t in the stop u, are cut sufficiently largeto allow of the necessary lateral play of the cutter-rods F F in the operation of cutting, and the cutters E E `are halved -or properly spliced lor fitted to the cutter-rods F F, and held to them by screws asshown at E E. The stop o has a horizontal hole through its side, into which is put the piny having a shoulder at z', and one end of the pin y protrudes a little distance beyond the inner surface of the hollow shaft B, into the hollow shaft B, while it is kept in by the spring y', one end of which is screwed to the stop o, while the other end pressesi against the pin y, or it may be kept in by a` spiral spring or any other convenient method. Underneath the cutter-rods F F are two guides or projections z x of lthe collar s', the outside or side next the cutter-rods F F of the projections z :c being bevelled longitudinally or wedgel'shaped, and the upper part ot' the collar s has a groove cut around the entire circumference of the collar s', and into this groove is fitted a ring or'outer collar, 8, fitting loosely enough into the groove to allow the collar s to rotate freely. Fastened to the ring s is the clamp g, which passes half way around the ring s and is screwed to it at each end, while the centre or` middle of the clamp q is secured to the upper end of the rod p, which passes down through the projection A2, and is secured at its lower end to the circular or cylindrical gauge l. This gauge Zhas a slot, m, cut in it, through which passes the pivot or screw o, which is driven or screwed into the post a. The upper gauge 1t may be' firmly fastened to the post a, or may have a slot cut in it, with a set-screw to set it at its proper height. The lever b is pivoted to the lower end of the upright` A atb/l, and may be operated by the foot in any convenient manner by attaching an auxiliary lever to the end U or elsewhere, and the other end of the lever is pivoted at b2 to the lower end of the piece c, which is pivoted at its upper end to the lever d. This lever d terminates at its upper end in the projection kv', and the other end of the lever el fits loosely into its socket 5 in'the lever e, which has its fulcrum at e. The side pieces d cl serve les a support to fulcra e and 6 of the levers e'and d. The lever e is pivoted at its smaller end lto they lower end of the piecef, which is pivoted at itsupper end to the lower end of the rod g, which works vertically in the cent-re of the post a. This post a terminates at its upper end in the table a. This combination of levers gives "motion to the post a and also to the rod g. A rotary motion of the cutters is communicated by applyinglpower tot-he pulley C, and if a piece of the cork be placed upon the table a', and the end U ofthe lever b be pulled down, air upward pressure will be communicated to thesmall end of theA lever d, but as the upper end of the projection c of the lever d, is by that means thrown outward, it strikes against the stop j, which prevents the small end of the lever d from being thrown upward andvacting upon the lever e. The post a, together with the combination of levers, then moves upwards u'util the pin o strikes against the upper part of the slot m in the gauge Z. The vertical motion of the posta thus far enables 'the operator to conveniently manipulatethe stui` from which to cut the cork, and brings the cork up near to the sharp edge of the cutters. When the pin o strikes against the upper part of the slot m in thevgauge Z, the rodp being fastened to the gauge l, vertical -motion is communicated to the collar s by the rodp and the clamp g, and as the guides a: :1: rise the holes t t in the collar s pull the cutters inward or contract them, and thus the pressure of the cutters is exerted inwardly against the cork between the cutters.` instead of outwardly against the stuff from which the cork is cut, which causes it to break and split. vDuring the vertical upward motion of the collar s', and the consequent contraction of the cutters, the stud` has been passing upward and being cut by the cutters, until the upper-surface of the table a has reached the edge of the cutters. The cork has now been cut through, and the projection k of the upper end of the lever (l has now passed upwards against the inner surface of the stop j, until it has passed above the lower edge of the aperture s in the stop j, when, there being no resistance to the front edge of the projection c, it passes outward throngh'the aperture Ic, allowing the other or lower end of the lever d to act upon and raise the smaller end of the lever c which is connected with the rod g. This movement raises quickly and smartly the rod g which comes up against the under side of the tapered cork which has just been cut through, separates it from the waste, and pushes it up into the hollow shaft B above the pin y, or sufficiently high for the pin y to hold it there and keep it from dropping back again. The post a and rod g are then dropped, and when the next cork is cut and pushed up into the hollow shaft B, it forces up the one last cut still higher, and so on, the cosk last cut forcing up the rest, which in their turn come out at the top of the hollow shaft B, and the top of the hollow shaft B may be high enough to be connected with a conductor or trough, which shall conduct the corks from the hollow shaft B to a basket or other receptacle. S is a tube or pipe which conveys 'a current of cold air on to the cutters while in operation, to keep them cool, which current of air may be created by a fan or other proper machinery. I prefer this meansrof keeping the cutters cool instead of the usual method of using oil as a lubricator, as itis cheaper and answers the purpose better, and the cutters are not kept cool always by the use of oil, and it is not desirable to use oil in the manufacture of corks, as they are not so apt to stick in the bottle when put in. This machine can he operated much faster than any other machine in use, as the feed and cutting operations are entirely under the control of the operator, and as the corks are taken out of the stock and carried ont of the Way as soon as cut, the stockedinits of much more rapid manipulation than when operated upon or cnt by any other machine in use. Wach leb-or :mil money nre expended in removing or separating the oorks from the stock or Weste after theyr are cnt, in the use ot' other machines, as it is necessary to' employ a, boy or person to punch out the eorks from the stock or Weste after being cut, while by my inventionthey :ire entirely removed and carried out of the wey the instant they are cut, which Vis no smell saving. There-is :L great saving 'in the originelyoutley of my machine, :is they may he manufactured very much cheaper than any'other machine now in use. l

I do not claim the use of expanding cutters for cutting corks, irrespective of my arrangement, as I am `@were that they have been used heretofore, and were dependent upon the elaisticity of wet cork and springs for Ytheir operation, and were differently arrange/.l from my invention but having described my invention, what I do claim as new, and desire to' secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The cutter-bars F F, having the stops F Ff, in combination with the xef collar c, the reciprocating collar s', the slots t t, ring s, and clamp g, ttached to the rodp and the bevelled projections :c 2:, all constructed and operating substantially as herein described and for the purpose set forth.

2. The reciprocating rod g, in combination with the levers e and d, for diseherging the cork when cut from the cutters, substantinllv ns herein described and set forth. Y

v i LUTHER W. FELT.

Witnesses OGDEN GRIsWoLn, Enwn. J. MARTIN. 

